I want to start building my keg-a-rator

[wulfsburg]

I plan to use 5 cu foot size fridge with a dual tap coming out of the top.
I have not acquired anything YET to put this plan into motion. I found that most craigslist fridges are around 30-50 bucks. I have a friend shipping me a cornelius keg. I live in Arizona and don't have room for a bigger fridge unless I put it in the garage. My girlfriend swears up and down that a fridge in the garage is gonna raise the power bill because it will be in a space that is 90 degrees or warmer (up to about 110) for months at a time. I imagine that it will be a minimal increase given the fact that they are all well insulated. I know many people that keep them in the garage.

Here is my onslaught of questions:

Any insight on this temperature/power consumption issue?
How many cubic feet do cornies occupy?
If I can fit 2 cornies in my fridge , what size of Co2 tank do I need and how much do they usually go for?
What kind of gauges do I need for this project and where is an affordable place to get them?
How long does it take to force carbonate your beer to the point where it is drinkable?
I understand that you need hoses and fittings and all of that stuff, but I imagine that is not expensive. However, where would I get the fittings needed for that?
And last but not least... I do want a actual beer tap , and not a picnic tap. How much do those kinds of setups go for?


I am trying to do this on a budget. So piecing everything together is what I want to do rather than buying a whole kit. I have never kegged before and I don't want to deal with the hassle of bottling. I suppose its not really the hassle... its the time involved with WAITING to drink your brew.

Thanks for reading and thank you for all the help!

 

[dirt55]

There are a TON of resources all about kegging here and using google.
I would start by reading threads/stickys about kegging.

I think the power consumption thing is silly. What are we talking about here in regards to a cool kegerator in a hot garage.... an increase in dollars...not tens of dollars over a year. You can buy a cheapy refridgerator and use that. You can buy a chest freezer plus a $50 johnson temp controller and make a keezer. You could also buy a mini fridge and cut into the top for a tower. From what I read that's the most "effort," but none of them are that bad of a project.

Don't try to piece out the project to be cheap UNLESS you already have atleast 25% of the pieces on the cheap or free from someone else. Seriously, the headache of trying to figure out each little piece that you have to buy when you've never kegged before and searching the internet/classifieds for a great deal on shanks, taps, quick connects, hose, regulators, possibly air manifolds with check valves depending on how many lines you want...etc. Check out www.kegconnection.com When I first started I got a whole kit from them and I can't express in words how impressed I was with their price, quality, and customer service. Everything came already assembled, I just hooked it up with a couple of snaps here and there and bam...ready to go. This is not a commerical for KC, they just earned my loyalty.

You could also check out www.morebeer.com and read their page about kegging FAQ http://morebeer.com/content/kegging-homebrew

Eitherway you'll see that's it possibly more of a $ investment then expected. Trust me though, it's SO worth it.

As for square feet of cornies...they're pretty small. I can fit 4 tightly in a 5cu freezer. 3 with a CO2 tank.

To carbonate, you could force carb in easily 30mins if it's cold, I never do that though because I'm terrible at predicting the carbonation level by "feel" as some may claim they can. I just use the carbonation chart in the back of Brewing Classic Styles and you can find it many places on the net. Read this too when you start kegging https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/keg-force-carbing-methods-illustrated-73328/

Good luck man!

 

[BrewNinja1]

Old fridges are actually really inefficient. Figure around $10 a month to run. Here is a calculator to give a ballpark (choose remove my fridge to find out how much extra it will cost you to run): http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=refrig.calculator

 

[Frank99]

I just converted a new Sanyo 4912 and the sticker on the fridge estimated an annual electricity cost of $32. Also, if you read this kegging thread you'll see that kegging actually can cause more headaches than bottling! Foaming is a big issue. However, I just fixed my foam problem and, yeah, it's worth the investment!